Consumerism, Part 3: Tuning Out

Unless you live like Thoreau in Walden, it’s nearly impossible to completely remove yourself from the madness of American consumerism. But we can to a large degree, which I believe is the simplest way to eliminate many materialist influences and desires.

As it is, we subject ourselves to an onslaught of corporate messages. TV advertising is one of the most common mediums for these messages, so let’s consider the following facts about TV use (Nielsen stats found on CSUN site):

-The average American watches more than 4 hours of TV every day.
-In the average American home, the TV is on for 6 hours and 47 minutes a day.
-The average American youth spends 900 hours in school each year, and 1,500 in front of the TV.
-The average American child will see 20,000 30-second commercials each year.

Is it any wonder that corporate America has such an enormous influence over the masses? We collectively sit and stare at their messages for hours each day, and they know how to turn our passive viewing into profits. Many billions of dollars have been invested in researching the psychology of consumers; the commercials we see are the finely-tuned end-result.

Advertisers must instill a desire in consumers to purchase their good. To do so, they need to makes us feel inferior and incomplete in some way without said good. The seemingly innocent commercials on the air are usually attempts to do just that. Beer commercials are an excellent example. The images of people having a wild, carefree time are a subtle message that associates excitement and social fulfillment with drinking. Most ads use similar techniques. Judging by the massive amounts of money that corporations spend on advertising, it clearly works.

However, no matter how clever these marketing messages are, they are useless if they do not find a recipient.

By far the simplest, easiest, and quickest way to counter consumer messages is to remove yourself from it. Work to tune it out; to ignore it. Turn off the TV, resist the urge to go browse at the mall, and put down the catalog that’s chock-full of ads reminding you that you are imperfect and incomplete.

Instead, engage in something more meaningful- exercise, go to a park, write, paint, spend time with friends and family, read, work on a project, brainstorm, etc. There are a gazillion more rewarding ways to get engaged in life than by propagating consumerism.

As I mentioned in the second part of this mini-series, I’m definitely not against ownership of physical goods. Rather, I’m against subjecting myself to constant messages that try to influence my wants. I would rather consciously decide how I manage my money, what I buy, and what I pass up. It’s kind of an insult to my own intelligence to submit to the influence of others who have a keen interest in persuading me to do something.

It may be impossible to entirely eliminate the persuasion of the materialist propaganda that pervades our lives, but we can undercut its influence.